There’s newfound hope for makeup instruction businesses in Nevada now that Victoria Seaman, a first-term State Representative, is trying to change what she feels are “senseless laws that stifle entrepreneurship.” Presently, Nevada doesn’t require someone to have a license to be a makeup artist, but the state does require someone who is teaching makeup artistry to be licensed. Operating a cosmetology teaching business in Nevada demands a special licensing procedure that may require a large upfront capital investment and over 700 hours of additional learning.
The lawmaker has gone on record to say she would like to sponsor an amendment that would make Nevada’s cosmetology teaching policy more flexible, particularly as it relates to makeup instruction businesses and the states interstate licensing and accreditation procedures, two areas in which many small scale makeup instructors feel a change of policy is needed.
The struggle for more tolerant state policy on cosmetology instruction isn’t new in Nevada. In fact, in June 2012, two enterprising makeup artists took the Nevada State Board of Cosmetology to court, stating that they should be exempt from the Board’s current licensing regulations, which they claimed prevented them from earning a living. They further insisted that the Board differentiate between simple makeup artistry instructions which utilize methods that pose no danger to the skin or health, and the other forms of cosmetology, which may utilize potentially harmful instruments or substances.
Representative Seaman seems to agree and feels that the current regulation goes beyond what’s needed to ensure health and safety. She’s also made it clear, however, that the Board is following the law, thus implying that until certain amendments are made to the law, teaching people how to apply makeup without a license will remain an illegal business activity in the state. Her hope is to elicit change so that entrepreneurs teaching makeup artistry are encouraged, instead of shut down.